Elon Musk Speaks on Journey to Mars, "Honestly, a Bunch of People Probably Will Die in the Beginning"

During a recent talk with Peter Diamandis, founder of the XPRIZE Foundation, Elon Musk offered an interesting thought regarding SpaceX‘s ambitious journey to Mars. The two future thinking figures discussed a wide array of topics from energy and communications to knowledge and transport, ultimately announced the $100 million USD XPRIZE Carbon Removal competition.

At the 13:25 mark, the two begin talking about the early stages of the voyages to the Red Planet with Musk saying, “honestly, a bunch of people probably will die in the beginning.” The nonchalant remark was followed by a note from the ambitious tech figure noting that the idea of Mars is “an escape hatch for rich people.” Adding, “going to Mars reads like that ad for Shackleton going to the Antarctic, you know: it’s dangerous, it’s uncomfortable, it’s a long journey, you might not, you know, come back alive, um—but it’s a glorious adventure and it’ll be amazing, an amazing experience.”

Elon Musk then went on to say the journey is “not for everyone” and is for brave “volunteers only.” Despite the grim notion, Musk is incredibly still confident that humans will be on Mars by 2026.

Catch Elon Musk’s talk with Peter Diamandis in full above.

In case you missed it, Saturday Night Live recently announced Elon Musk as its upcoming host.